The beating of the heart
by Ashyna
Summary: Rated for further chapters. Eruru mourns her precious Hakuoro.
1. Chapter 1

It was a year after Hakuoro disappeared, and Eruru was still getting over it. Most times she managed to push the thought if him out of her head, mostly by taking care of Aruru, or visiting patients. She never told anyone about their kiss, for fear of what they would think…and the fact that it would be quite embarrassing. The only times she allowed herself to mourn him was at night. And at night, she wept. She missed him terribly, more than even her grandmother and her village. Her heart felt like an open wound, still smarting as if it had just been cut. She cried for him, for Aruru, for herself, and for their love. She knew that it was love, for the simple fact that she didn't know what else to call it. And she knew that it was a different love than that she had for Aruru. When she thought of him, her heart jumped into her throat, and she lost focus in what she was doing. She worried about where he was constantly, and if she would ever see him again. Or, if they did meet again, if he would have lost his memories like before. Just the thought made her go into another fit of sobs. She couldn't bear it if he forgot about her.

It seemed that her distress was showing, because Aruru had been trying harder lately to help with the small 'infirmary' that they were keeping, and Oboro had called in a cook so that she didn't have to. Karura had even started helping out with her duties, using the excuse that she "Just wanted to start pulling her weight."

The marble ring that she had always thought worthless, but beautiful nonetheless, was now one of her post precious items that she owned. Whenever she was asked about from many of the young men now living near the palace, she had always told the messenger to reply that she was not interested. Her heart belonged to Hakuoro. It stayed that way for another two months.

Her life was dreary, she was gaining circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, and she didn't have the usual spunk that she had possessed when he was still here. Her friends were starting to worry about her health, and were thinking of taking her up to the mountains to get away from the palace. It was around when they were planning this when they got a message that there was a visitor.

As the party went to the main room where they were to meet this guest, Eruru sat alone in her room. She didn't think it important for her to meet a random guest, so she just sat on her windowsill and thought about what new herbs she was going to need.

She heard a loud screech from Aruru and jumped, her attention now on the door leading out of her room. "Daddy! You're back!" Aruru's high pitched voice could be heard all through the palace, and Eruru's eyes widened. She quickly made her way down the stairway and outside, so that she was standing behind everyone else. She gasped at the sight of him, whispering "Hakuoro…"

He looked just like he had when she last saw him…still wearing the same clothes, still with the same mask. Her heart was pounding and her face flushed. It seemed that he had embraced and said the general hello's to everyone…he was now putting Aruru down from a hug. She saw him look around, his blue hair whipping a bit as he did. When he caught sight of her he smiled, a warm and gentle sight. She moved her eyes to the ground, her face still flushed as she stammered "K-konichiwa, Hakuoro-san." Her hands were clasped in front of her and her face was lowered, so she didn't see him swiftly make his were to her and pick her up.

She gasped, and only had about a millisecond to, before he was kissing her. It was just like she remembered…she smiled through their kiss, two small tears rolling their way down her face. Her arms found their way around his neck, grasping his hair in tight fists. She was now tall enough so that if she stood on her toes she could reach him, and his arms went down to her waist. Finally having to breathe, she pulled back and smiled at him.

"It's good to see you, Hakuoro." She whispered, and he smiled and responded "I missed you."

Eruru let go of his neck, dropping to the ground and she held her hand to her chest in a tight fist. She couldn't stop smiling. Her hear was pounding at a speed so fast she though dangerous, and her cheeks were flushed from the kiss. "He didn't forget me…." She whispered to herself, and her head whipped around when she heard whistling.

She glared at Oboro, and crossed her arms onto her chest while putting on a 'grumpy face', as Aruru called it. Thinking of Aruru, as they all walked inside, Oboro chatting away to Hakuoro, she looked for her younger sister. Said Aruru seemed to have a horrified look on her face, and screeched when she caught her sisters eye " Eruru kissed Daddy!"

Eruru quickly made her way over to Aruru, and clasped a hand over her mouth. She had to admit, it still hadn't registered with her yet that Hakuoro was back.

"Don't yell!" She hissed at Aruru, and ushered her into the room that they would talk to their long missed emperor in.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone sat around Hakuoro expectantly, waiting for an explanation. Benawi had his arms crossed over his chest in an expectant way, and Karura was drumming her fingers in annoyance. Eruru sat on her knees with Aruru in her lap.

The silence was thick, full of tension that was so obvious you could almost see it. It was infuriating, the way he just looked at everyone. He would open his mouth to speak, and then shut it again as if he wasn't sure. Aruru started to squirm in impatience, flicking her tail around and kicking at Eruru's feet. Hakuoro opened his mouth once more, and everyone leaned in, ready to hear what he was going to say.

"So, I guess you want an explanation?" he asked, his deep voice unable to hide his nervousness. Eruru was expecting a loud "Yes!" from the party of people around her, but all that happened was that they leaned in closer. Aruru was starting to get too wild, so Eruru sighed and picked up her younger sister, placing her on her feet. Without a word Eruru pushed Aruru to the destination she knew she wanted to go, and smiled when the girl plopped herself in Hakuoro's lap like she belonged there.

He sighed and looked at Eruru with pleading eyes. She turned her head away and "humphed." Their former emperor got a look of defeat in his eyes, and he bent his head downwards so that they couldn't see his face.

"Alright, the reason I'm back, with my memories intact, is because…." Eruru perked her ears up, waiting for him to explain. "I have no idea." He finished. As would be expected, Oboro and Touka fell on their faces from leaning forward so far, and Karura just laughed. Yuzuha tilted her head to the side as if she was expecting it, and Urutori and Kamyu both had looks of defeat on their faces. Benawi's face was just…frightening.

Hakuoro held his hands up in front of himself in defense, and said quickly, "I don't know what happened….a few hours ago I woke up on the middle of a road…The only thing I can think of was that somebody revived Dii, and in doing that I was revived."

"But that's impossible!" Kamyu's face was pale, frightened even. "He was destroyed! There wasn't even a body left! How could he have been revived…and by whom?" Urutori nodded her head and said calmly "I'm going to have to agree with Kamyu here. There is no way that Dii, or the other half of Witsuarunemitea, was revived. So there has to be another explanation."

Sighing, Eruru stood up and walked over to Hakuoro. She cleared her throat and made her thoughts clear, deciding it was time for her input. "Well, if we don't know why he is here then we don't know. Maybe sometime soon it will become clear, but as of now I think we should just welcome him back, and carry on with our normal routine."

She turned, and smiled warmly at Hakuoro. "Also, before we give him back his duties," She stopped, and grinned openly now, "I think he should get some rest." In a flash everyone was talking, protesting on how there were important things he needed to look into, and such. Eruru tugged on the sleeve of his robe, and motioned for him to follow her. Now everyone was yelling at each other, instead of at the two of them, so their escape was possible.

She sighed and leaned against the wall to his room. She glanced at him, taking in his appearance once more. He was sitting on the ground, his legs crossed as he massaged his temples. "So, how did you know that I was tired?" She jumped, not expecting him to say anything. She went and sat down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulders. "I have my ways." She explained simply, and looked at him. He sensed that she was looking at him, and turned his face so that he could return her gaze. All at once it hit her; he was back.

She lunged and him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she buried her face in his shoulder, beginning to sob. He fell backwards from the impact, and quickly wrapped his arms around her back. "Eruru, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" She only sobbed louder, clutching onto the back of his shirt tighter. He sighed, and sat up, still holding her in his arms. "Eruru…I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave you and Aruru like that. It's just…" He stopped, not being able to think of an excuse that she hadn't already heard. "I'm so happy that you are back, Hakuoro-san. I missed you so much." Her sobs turned into shallow breaths, and she started to hiccup after a while.

He held his hand on her back as she tried to get back to her normal breathing, and failing miserably. She laughed, and leaned back enough to wipe her tears. "I'm sorry, Hakuoro-san. I didn't mean to get you all wet." He smiled, and placed his forehead against hers. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared into his eyes, never really noticing how deep they were. She brought her hand up to trace the outline of his mask, noticing how different the cold, rough material contrasted with his warm, smooth skin, and he looked away. "It still doesn't come off." He seemed deeply ashamed about it, and she put her finger under his chin and moved it so that he was facing her again. "I wouldn't have it any other way." She said softly, and leaned back on her heels.

He seemed surprised at her comment, and didn't respond when she went to the door. "I guess that I'd better leave you to sleep." He nodded absently, and lay down on his back when she left, his face a slight shade of red. He placed a hand over his forehead and stared at the ceiling, muttering, "What am I going to do with myself?"

On the other side of the door, Eruru had her hand in a similar position, her face flushing when she realized what an intimate moment she had just had with him.


End file.
